Multan, Jan 25: Pakistan's left-arm spinner Noman Ali etched his name into cricketing history on Saturday by becoming the first Pakistani spinner to achieve a hat-trick in Test cricket.

The 38-year-old achieved this remarkable feat on the opening day of the second and final Test against the West Indies at the Multan Cricket Stadium. Noman's hat-trick was a pivotal moment in the match, as the visitors were left reeling at 44 for 7 by the end of the morning session.

Noman's hat-trick placed him among an elite group of Pakistani bowlers, making him only the fifth in the nation's history to achieve the milestone in Test cricket. He followed in the footsteps of legendary bowlers like Wasim Akram, who was the first Pakistani fast bowler to take a Test hat-trick in 1997, and Naseem Shah, the last Pakistani to achieve the feat in 2020 against Bangladesh.

Coming on as the first-change bowler on a spin-friendly Multan track, Noman began dismantling the West Indies batting order with precision and guile. His first breakthrough came in his second over when he dismissed West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite, delivering a blow that deflated the visitors' morale.

Noman's hat-trick unfolded in the 12th over of the innings. He first dismissed Justin Greaves, who attempted an expansive drive only to edge the ball to the slip cordon. Then, Tevin Imlach fell victim to a failed sweep shot, trapped plumb in front of the stumps. For his hat-trick delivery, Noman showed tremendous skill and composure, tossing the ball up to invite an ambitious drive from Kevin Sinclair. Sinclair edged the ball and Babar Azam, stationed at gully, completed a brilliant low catch to seal the historic moment.

The Multan pitch, prepared as a dust bowl, played perfectly into Pakistan’s spin-heavy strategy. The surface offered sharp turn from the first hour, and Noman, along with fellow spinner Sajid Khan, capitalised on it to stifle the West Indies' batting lineup.

Debutant pacer Kashif Ali set the tone for the morning by removing Mikyle Louis in the opening 15 minutes of play. After that, it was a spin masterclass from Noman and Sajid, who extracted prodigious turn and bounce to trouble the visiting batters.

(IANS)

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